What about aging? Perspectives from high school teachers and students on integrating aging into the high school curriculum

ABSTRACT

Most educational programs on aging target college students in disciplines which might provide services or work with older adults, such as medicine or social work, to the exclusion of students in high school. The purpose of this study is to better understand high school students and teacher’s attitudes and perceptions regarding aging. Focus groups were conducted to collect data for this study. A total of 35 teachers and 55 students participated in the study. Findings indicate that attitudes about aging are both positive and negative, however, there is a consensus among both teachers and students that incorporating aging into the high school curriculum would be beneficial. Teachers are in need of strategies to incorporate aging education into the high school curriculum, as there are many barriers. Results from this study can be used to aid in the development of educational modules designed to incorporate aging content into the curriculum.

KEYWORDS:

• Gerontology
• aging
• students
• teachers
• attitudes
• high school

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.